The Mexican Suitcase and Cuba

As you enter the International Center of Photography, your attention is immediately drawn to a large wall that has a little background information on the exhibit, to introduce you to what spectacles you are about to witness. The main focus of the exhibit at ICP was the Mexican Suitcase, which contained nearly 4,500 negatives that were considered lost. They were recovered from Mexico City, and are now on display at the ICP. The Suitcase was actually three separate boxes, and four photographers took the negatives inside: Robert Capa, Chim (David Seymour), Gerda Taro, and Fred Stein. Stein mostly captured self-portraits of Taro, “which after her death became inextricably linked to images of the war itself.”

Introductions are generally overlooked, skimmed, and forgotten very quickly. This introduction, however, already had an artistic touch. The six ceiling lights in the room were directed at the text in such a way that you had to continuously move around to avoid the glare from the shiny letters. I thought it was an interesting touch, although I did not appreciate having to move around, or squint through the glare when reading it. It seemed as though the lighting throughout the entire exhibit was either poorly planned out, or intentionally directed in such a way that you had to strain your eyes. Either way, analyzing and critiquing the lighting was not the reason why I came to the ICP, and I quickly overcame my annoyance and focused on what was really interesting and captivating – the photography from the Spanish Civil war.

The prints of the negatives found in the Mexican Suitcase captured scenes ranging from frontline war action to families working together in shops. Chim was responsible for the latter types of photographs, while Taro and Capa were the ones who risked their lives on the front, trying to capture the reality, fear, and violence of the war. On July 26, 1937, Gerda Taro became the first female photographer to die reporting on a war. She was a passenger in a car that was struck by a tank, and was fatally wounded, dying the next day. Many of her prints that were on display at the ICP were astounding, and more importantly, genuine. There was no posing; only real scenes, with real action, and real death.

As I moved further through the exhibit, I came across the Suitcase itself, which as I already mentioned, was actually three separate boxes that resembled the boxes I used in my childhood for collecting rare rocks and minerals. Their yellowed and tattered appearance definitely resembled their age – over 70 years old.

An interesting way of presenting the prints was brought to my attention by a friend – it appeared as though there was no effort put in to rotate the photographs. We constantly had to tilt our heads to see the photographs that were taken in landscape view, but presented as portraits. It is likely that this was an attempt to preserve authenticity and originality. Luckily no photographs were upside down! Another detail about the presentation of the prints was brought to my attention by Professor Bernstein. The vintage gelatin prints were all floated, to “preserve antiquity” and avoid ruining them, while the modern prints were overmatted. Overmatting is used when the edges of prints serve no integral purpose, and it seemed appropriate that the prints with sharp contrast were cut off with sharp edges.

Continuing down the stairs to the first floor, I came across the photograph that I now consider my favorite from the exhibit. It was a print by Capa titled “French internemtn camps for Republican exiles.”

http://www.icp.org/sites/default/files/imagecache/Current_Exhibition/exhibition_images/mexicase_1.jpg

This was my favorite print because it resembles one of my favorite paintings by Repin – Бурлаки на Волге

http://1russian1.com/data/image/burlaki_na_volge.jpg

There was no story captioned, so I appreciated it for a few moments and continued down the stairs to the rest of the exhibit. The rest of what I saw in the ICP focused mostly on Che Guevera and Fidel Castro. This is understandable, because they were the ones who revolutionized Cuba. Che Guevera seemed to be big on watches; in an interview with Laura Berquist of Look magazine, he can be seen wearing a Rolex GMT Master in a photograph of him pressing his fingers to his eyes, engaged in thought. In another print of him in Ernest Hemingway’s Marlin Fishing Competition, he is wearing two watches, one of which is another Rolex.

From the interviews, to the fishing and hunting trips, to him just smoking cigars, I was almost given the impression that Che Guevera barely did any work at all. My first impression was quickly shattered by the images in the next room, of his death. The story flowed slowly, but as I walked around the room, it all came together, and the hero’s death was summed up. I am not religious, but many would object to his “iconization” and portrayal as Jesus Christ in some of those photographs.

I left the ICP with a greater understanding of the Spanish Civil War, and new ideas and views on Che Guevera and Fidel Castro. The exhibit showed them in a positive light, unlike the one that our government tries to show them in. I enjoyed the exhibit and regret not being able to stay with the group and experience it together with them – sorry guys!